It’s going to be a very short and very tarnished 2008 season for Phil Hughes.
Hughes may pitch again for the Yankees this year, but it’s not going to be directly after his 15-day disabled-list stint is up.
Or even directly after May is up.
One day after the Yankees announced that Hughes had a strained right oblique, they amended his diagnosis following an MRI exam and an X-ray.
The new test results are unquestionably more severe.
Hughes has a stress fracture in the ninth rib on his right side, and he’s going to be shut down at least four weeks.
At that point, he’ll be evaluated again.
Even if the 21-year-old right-hander is then cleared to start rehabbing, it would be July before he’s back, considering he’ll have to start throwing again, make rehab starts, etc.
If Hughes isn’t cleared after four weeks, he’ll be out even longer. August?
Hughes, who admitted to being “in disbelief” with the diagnosis, said that as far as a target date to return, “There’s no date I have.”
There’s probably little point in making one. He has a long way to go.
In maybe the most baffling part of the situation, Brian Cashman said, “He (Hughes) does not know how it happened.”
Hughes said Wednesday that the first time he felt the problem was last week. But he doesn’t know what caused it. He’s also not sure whether it was there prior to his feeling it.
“It could have been around for a while and it was just so minor that I didn’t know it,” Hughes said. “Or it could have been something that happened overnight. There’s no way of knowing.
“It wasn’t like one specific pitch where I felt it. It was just one of those things, I woke up one morning and it was a little discomfort but nothing major and then after [Wednesday] night there was significantly more discomfort.”
Hughes is running the risk of getting labeled as someone who can’t stay healthy. He missed 85 games last year with a strained hamstring.
Hughes said he wasn’t alarmed because these injuries haven’t been arm-related.
“I think it’s more just bad luck than anything,” he said.
It’s also horrible luck for Yankees fans, especially those who wanted Hughes dealt this offseason for Johan Santana. The decision to not make a trade with the Twins is looking like a terrible one.
The Yankees have Triple-A righty Darrell Rasner taking Hughes’ spot Sunday against the Mariners, though the question is whether they will ultimately look to deal for a more reliable replacement.
Cashman said, “I always try to stay from within first to make sure we don’t have any answers from within.”
The GM also said Hughes’ injury doesn’t affect Joba Chamberlain’s status as a reliever.
It’s May 2, so there aren’t many teams looking to move pitchers. Tampa Bay is unwilling to move Edwin Jackson within the AL East, and possible options would include the Cardinals’ Anthony Reyes or the Rangers’ Kevin Millwood or Vicente Padilla.
Hughes had been terrible this season, going 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA, and Cashman hinted that he believed the injury was affecting him, saying, “His fastball command has been uncommonly off, but now we’ve got a better idea why.”
That seems a little hard to believe, though, considering that Hughes hasn’t had the injury all season.
Hughes said, “I really don’t think that it was an issue in my performance.”
Hughes, who also revealed on Tuesday that he has problems seeing the signs sometimes at Yankee Stadium, will visit an eye doctor tomorrow to see if that problem can be remedied.
The Yankees also are awaiting word on Jorge Posada’s strained right shoulder. Posada saw Mets medical director David Altchek today, and Girardi said it would be two weeks before Posada does any throwing.